"John Wells has only twelve days to stop the United States from being tricked into invading Iran in the new cutting-edge novel of modern suspense from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author. Twelve days. Wells, with his former CIA bosses Ellis Shafer and Vinnie Duto, has uncovered a staggering plot, a false-flag operation to convince the President to attack Iran. But they have no hard evidence, and no one at Langley or the White House will listen. Now the President has set a deadline for Iran to give up its nuclear program, and the mullahs in Tehran-furious and frightened-have responded with a deadly terrorist attack. Wells, Shafer, and Duto know they have only twelve days to find the proof they need. They fan out, from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, Israel to Russia, desperately trying to tease out the clues in their possession. Meanwhile, the United States is moving soldiers and Marines to Iran's border. And Iran has mobilized its own squad of suicide bombers. And as the days tick by and the obstacles mount, they realize that everything they do may not be enough..."--

Summary

John Wells has only twelve days to stop the United States from being tricked into invading Iran in the new cutting-edge novel of modern suspense from the #1 New York Times --bestselling author.

Twelve days.

Wells, with his former CIA bosses Ellis Shafer and Vinnie Duto, has uncovered a staggering plot, a false-flag operation to convince the President to attack Iran. But they have no hard evidence, and no one at Langley or the White House will listen.

Now the President has set a deadline for Iran to give up its nuclear program, and the mullahs in Tehran--furious and frightened--have responded with a deadly terrorist attack. Wells, Shafer, and Duto know they have only twelve days to find the proof they need. They fan out, from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, Israel to Russia, desperately trying to tease out the clues in their possession. Meanwhile, the United States is moving soldiers and Marines to Iran's border. And Iran has mobilized its own squad of suicide bombers.

And as the days tick by and the obstacles mount, they realize that everything they do may not be enough…

Author Notes

Alex Berenson was born on January 6, 1973. He graduated from Yale University in 1994 with degrees in history and economics. After college, he became a reporter for the Denver Post. In 1996, he became one of the first employees at TheStreet.com, the financial news website. In 1999, he became a reporter for The New York Times. While there he covered topics ranging from the occupation of Iraq to the flooding of New Orleans to the financial crimes of Bernie Madoff. He left the Times in 2010 to concentrate on writing fiction, but he occasionally contributes to the newspaper.

His first book, The Faithful Spy, won the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. His other works include The John Wells series and the nonfiction books The Number and The Prisoner.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Berenson delivers the slam-bang conclusion he left readers craving at the end of The Counterfeit Agent (2014). Freelance spy John Wells survived the melee that concluded that first installment in this two-parter, but the real business was left undone: Will Wells and his strange bedfellows Vinnie Duto, the power-hungry, former CIA director turned senator, and Ellis Shafer, veteran agency analyst waiting for a pink slip find a way to expose the plot of billionaire Aaron Duberman to incite a war between the U.S. and Iran? The president has swallowed the bait, issuing an ultimatum to Iran: allow the U.S. to examine its nuclear facilities within 12 days, or it's war. Wells, Duto, and Shafer know Duberman and his associate, the mysterious Salome, are behind the scam, but they don't know where Salome got the enriched uranium that set off the crisis. Track back that connection, and the president will have to listen; fail, and another Middle East fiasco explodes. Lots of thriller writers know how to work a ticking clock, and lots more come to the genre with some experience in international politics, but few put the two together as effectively as Berenson, former New York Times reporter, does in this compelling, globe-trotting time bomb of a novel. Action fans will get all they came for, as Wells slashes his way from Russia to Israel to Egypt and on to South Africa for the High Noon-style finale, but those looking for genuine insight into the subtleties of the geopolitical chess game will be equally satisfied.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2015 Booklist